St. Louis Cardinals SWEEP The White Sox! Andre Granillo Is A STUD!

St. Louis Cardinals SWEEP The White Sox! Andre Granillo Is A STUD!

a double-header sweep meant a series sweep for the Cardinals on Thursday against the White Socks We’ll talk about Andre Gino’s historic day and a lineup that just wouldn’t say die coming up on Bshave Daily [Music] What’s going on everyone and welcome in to this edition of B Shave Daily Brendan Schaefer with you It is Friday morning June 20th 2025 And on today’s episode of the program we are recapping a series sweep for the Cardinals in Chicago as they did exactly what they needed to do against a team like the White Socks taking all three games two of which came on Thursday as the Cardinals swept the double header with Andre Grineo pitching in both games and thriving in both games He earns the win in game one which was a come from behind effort for St Louis and he earns the save in game two which was technically another come from behind effort because the White Sox put the first run of the game up against Michael McGrevy before the Cardinal lineup went berserk over the third and fourth innings to score six runs pad that lead and then the bullpen gave it up tied it at six and you felt like the Cardinals were perhaps going to let the series sweep slip away And we’ll talk about John King Kyle Lehey some of the relievers that have had some trouble recently and certainly did on Thursday But one such reliever that didn’t have any problem at all was Andre Grano That’s just unbelievable How many guys would you even expect to see a manager let him try to do what Andre Gio did on Thursday and I feel like veteran relievers probably wouldn’t often get the chance because they’ve kind of built up enough to where all right this guy we’re not going to make him throw twice in one day It it might almost have to be a rookie It might almost have to be a guy who has had to grind through the minor leagues for multiple years who is you know already age 25 whatever Andre Gorno is I think he’s 25 when he makes his big league debut And it’s one of those cases where yeah you kind of have to prove it right for whatever reason the organization has sort of overlooked you as a prospect to this point You had to earn everything that has been given to you And Andre Gio has certainly done that with his efforts this season in AAA Memphis His strikeout numbers jumping off the page basically screaming “Hey I need a chance I deserve an opportunity for a big league callup.” And the Cardinals eventually give him that Um you could argue that by the time it happened it was a bit overdue but there was no time like on time for Andre Gino on Thursday with his contributions to a pair of Cardinals wins And I guess with it being a straight double header there was no uh really time in between just a half an hour to reset the reset the scoreboard if you will and they went ahead and played the second game Did he get a double laundry cart treatment after game two that’s what I would want to know because always the guys when they are a rookie and they get their first win or their first save you get the laundry cart treatment They spray a bunch of liquids from the fridge on you in the clubhouse showers and you kind of get that celebration I guess Andre Gil might have had to go double time after his efforts on Thursday I haven’t had a chance yet to sit down and read some of the coverage from the beat riders that are there in Chicago because I uh if you have not noticed with the audio quality I’m on vacation this week uh returning back home on Saturday So one more day for me and the family in the Ozarks which is why I I don’t have all my recording equipment with me but I would be interested to read some of that if I sit down here and get a chance to do so when it comes to what that postgame celebration was like for Greno But man that was uh that was a big sweep for the Cardinals They needed something like that You we’ve talked a lot about it There are going to be those teams on the schedule that you get to play that everybody gets to play that you have to take advantage of We talked about the stretch for the Cubs where they went like a month without playing a winning team and they were beating up on the likes of the White Socks and the Rockies and the Marlins and the Cardinals still have a lot of series remaining against those types of teams But this was your chance against the White Sox and the Cardinals made good on it which I think you have to do You got to pick up those winds like they’re uh like their rings in the Sonic game You know what I’m talking about back in the 90s on the old uh I guess there were probably more game systems than this I played it on like the SNES I think is what it was called You got to pick up those rings when they’re sitting in front of you And the White Sox series that’s uh that’s those are the freebies And the Cardinals I mean they made it more difficult than it had to be in a lot of ways but this is still Major League Baseball So I’m not going to penalize the Cardinals for having a couple of close hard-fought wins Uh when you say “Oh they could have won it more easily.” The bullpen didn’t need to blow things up in game two when you had a six to1 lead Um you know you you didn’t need to in game one Uh I guess you could say that the bullpen there again was Steven Matz having some struggles and giving up a homer that that ended up putting the White Socks ahead in in that first game You didn’t have to have that happen Like sure all of that is true but a win is a win is a win and the Cardinals got two of them on Thursday Let’s start with game one and talk about how that one unfolded Come from behind effort and Wilson Contreras once again right at the center of it all Um man this guy is just so good and he’s so good for this team It’s been catching on I’ve been seeing some people reply to me on Twitter and say “Hey heart and soul heart and soul.” And that’s what I have continued to label Wilson Contrares as He is the heart and soul of the 2025 St Louis Cardinals And what you’re going to find by the end of the season his numbers at the plate are going to reflect that as well He’s up to a 759 OPS Remember how slowly he started the campaign and now you look up and and I guess actually let me correct that Let me correct that because I was looking at the box score from game one to dictate that he’s actually up to 762 on the OPS after he had a swing in game two that was a double to to move those numbers up a little bit more and provide a couple more RBI’s for the Cardinals He has just been lights out following the really really strugglesome it’s not a word the really slow start that he had to the season And now you look up and there aren’t very many players in the Cardinal lineup hitting better than him on the season Donovan has an 824 OPS Keep voting to get him into the All-Star game Alec Berles this is a guy that has to be in there every day And we’ve been saying that for a while He’s he’s due to pass up Donovan in OPS He had a huge monster day on Thursday Game one two for three reached base via walk So he was on base three times in that one Game two two for five with a home run swing his seventh of the season Aronado also going deep in that game Lars Newbar also going deep in that game which was boy was that a big swing for him to have He’s still sitting sub 700 on his OPS We’ll talk a little bit about when his home run came and why I thought it was so important for not only him but the team as well But Contras I mean yeah it’s Donovan it’s Berles and that’s really of your regulars that’s really hit in terms of guys that are hitting better than him and that’s on a seasonl long basis Got a lot of Cardinals right now with OPS’s in the 600s And I talk about OPS a lot because for me it’s the catchall simple stat There are more complex stats that you can point to to tell a more full complete picture of a player offensively But it’s better than just batting average because batting average doesn’t tell you what you did to get on base And batting average doesn’t tell you how powerful your swings were On base plus slugging percentage OPS OBP combined with slug It gives you a little bit of an idea as to both And you’re at least doing really well in one or the other if you’ve got a 750 or an 800 OPS And the Cardinals don’t have many guys that qualify for that And I it’s just why it’s very important that Wilson Contreras has ultimately turned in the type of season to this point that you would expect And it doesn’t bother me that he’s been moved from catcher to first base because I think when it’s all said and done this year Wilson Contrarus is going to have offensive numbers that rate pretty favorably among the best first baseman in the league That’s my prediction Does he get above 800 for the OPS maybe he does If not I think he could be pretty close to it I think it was like 848 last year I don’t know if he gets quite to that level because the the slow start is going to drag it down to an extent but I just wanted to mark just how impressive he’s been And look that that’s kind of a you know you could talk about roster building and say yeah it’s a little bit of a bummer to have to move a guy from catcher to first base I don’t think they did it on merit with Wilson I think it was a matter of they had other catchers they wanted to explore They wanted to explore Pedro Pes We’ll talk a little bit about Pahes I didn’t think he had the best day behind the plate yesterday In game two ninth inning He’s got to find a way to block one or two of those pitches that got away from him I’m not sure if they were considered pass balls or wild pitches I think it was maybe one of each I’m not seeing the Yeah there it is Well no cuz Jojo was not charged with a wild pitch at all I’m not sure how that’s possible because two of them happened Pah was charged with one pass ball and there was one wild pitch by Cardinals but it was charged to Lehey So that was earlier but nevertheless um I’ve talked a lot about Pedro Pah and his defense and how the Cardinals value it highly because he has an ability to help keep the score where it is when you’re tied when you’re down by a run Only Marmal values him behind the plate defensively I have subscribed to that myself relative to Herrera relative to Po who I don’t think is I think over a larger sample you would find that there are some deficiencies in his game behind the play too But bottom line I mean P has has I think got to be a little bit more it’s not attentiveness but you know whatever the word is you got to be locked in in that ninth inning And so I’ll I’ll I’ll be I’ll be critical of it when it happens And and that I thought was a spot to be critical of it because in game two the Cardinals got away with it they were able to get out of that inning but there were certainly that was some some anxious moments that didn’t need to be quite as anxious as they were Um nice play coming home from third base by Aronado on the the chopper to make sure that that run was cut down and keep the game tied where it was So just something to note there that I know people were talking about I and I do still say Pahz is better defensively than Herrera I think a lot of that is to do with game calling in addition to you know managing the run game but blocking pitches has to be a big part of it especially when you’ve got a runner on base in the ninth inning So I’ll I’ll try to be fair and critical when I think it’s worthy of it And I think P has largely does a nice job but there are th those instances you want to eradicate from your game if you are build as the defense first catcher Um because it’s true like when you get everybody healthy and I and I’ll count newbar among those when everybody’s healthy and like ready to rock you you’re having some trouble finding ways to get Walker and Gorman and Nbar and and Berles in the lineup at the same time Right now Burley’s just got to be in there and you can figure it out between the other three But having somebody like Herrera behind the plate would allow for an extra bat in the lineup And so if that is the reason that you’re not putting Herrera behind the plate is defense I do I do think it’s important for Pahes to be at the top of his game and at least in those tight key late moments find a way to keep runners at bay So that’s my little two cents on that You can let me know in the comments what you think about that sequence that happened there in the ninth inning But certainly from an offensive standpoint good to see Pah had a couple of hits there in the uh the second game and and he only started one game They they found a way to get that lineup working in game one with Herrera behind the plate And you know from a pitching standpoint I I would say that there’s nothing noticeable and and that outing that tells you well Herrera was a problem behind the plate I think he I think he’s probably better than we often give him credit for because we hype up the defense for Pahes But when Pah has a game like that or a moment like that at least feel like it’s worth mentioning Eric Fetty was pretty good You know kind of a standard Fetty outing six hits two walks allowed As we kind of circle back to talking about the pitching from game one five innings and it was Steven Mats that gives up a homer He had a four strikeout inning which is a little bizarre but ended up giving up a key home run there Contrarus able to get things back for the Cardinals in that game one where he hits his home run and ties the score with that homer That was his 10th of the year in the eighth inning And then the Cardinals find a way to score another run in that inning with a single by Joel Po So he takes a key at bat The Cardinals come through with that So I I do think you look at Po and say “Yeah there are moments where you just have to be willing to use him as that right-handed bat off your bench.” He pinchs for Victor Scott It’s not ideal necessarily to have Barrero into center field in a close game like that but I think to to try and put yourselves over the top and win the game that’s what all he was looking for there And ultimately it pans out So I think you’re fine with that decision Just be willing to use him in those spots might be what makes the most sense And in game two there was a spot where folks were not happy about the at bat taken by Barrerero Jose Barrero who was starting at shortstop in game two And I’d have to look back to trace exactly what inning that happened in I was I was a little bit on the move at that point in the game and was listening to it instead of watching it Um he struck out in the eighth inning after a pah double Gorman was on third base and then was picked off and Barrero struck out And so that was in the eighth inning top of the eighth inning because you’re on the road pinch hit opportunity there I’m not a 100 percent sure People probably wanted to see um Mason Win maybe coming in at that point in the game And if not he was going to have to be the one that came in defensively right because you’re still I’m checking to see Jordan Leisure was the pitcher So a right-handed pitcher you don’t have any lefties off your bench at that point but you would have had somebody you know a little more capable to come in and take a swing Herrera probably would have been the guy to bring off the bench if you felt like key spot in the game We need this hit but Mason Win would have come in defensively because Barrera was your starter at shortstop And for those questioning how do they let Barrerero take that at bat again I’m not in Chicago covering but I always try to contextualize some of these decisions that people have problems with to try to think about why they might have happened My best guess Mason Win was off limits or I should say you know hands off for game two to come in to play defense He had already played a full game They want him to get some time off his feet And in a tie game like that if you pinch hit Herrera or you pinch hit Mason Win himself somebody’s got to come in defensively and play shortstop and it would have been win you would have been doing that in the bottom of the eighth the bottom of the ninth and ultimately if that game continues the 10th to where he might end up playing a half a game of defense and he’d already played nine innings You might say “No big deal Go win the game It’s the obvious spot to get Herrera in there.” Totally understand that But Ollie Marmal has always done a very good job of thinking in the long term He doesn’t sell out for one moment in the month of June against an inner league opponent Even though you got to win every game every game that you have a chance to win is important I think they have a really really really good handle on what it looks like to keep Mason win fresh but also healthy for the full season Him playing 12 or 13 innings of defense was not in the cards for that game They really probably wanted to stay away from him I’m putting words into Oie’s mouth because I like I said I’m not there so I didn’t have the chance to ask him this My assumption is that would be the reason that you don’t pinch hit Bar Herrera is you’re trying to not use Mason winning that game And look you maybe Herrera comes up he swings big and you’re up by two runs and Mason’s got to play the eighth and the ninth of defense and that you win the game because of it But there is that percentage chance that by doing that you wear him down to the point of fatigue and he overcompensates something and he tweaks the back and he’s out for two weeks because of it sometime in the next week or so That’s not a guarantee We don’t know the percentages of that but that’s their job to figure out I think the problem sometimes we have as fans or as outsiders as media we can look at something and say “Well come on dude Barrero is not you know he’s nothing at the plate You’re you’re sacrificing your chance to win this game It’s right there Go win it You could sweep the series and all that would be true But I think that they and they being Ollie Marvel and this coaching staff they have to manage this team for 6 months We can look at it in that moment and say “Go get it Get the win.” And we can isolate that They have the tendency to want to do that too but they have to balance those things They have to deal with the ramifications of that tomorrow and the next day and next Tuesday and a month from now If it’s game seven of the World Series yeah Herrera’s taking the Well first of all Herrera is starting that game but it’s the second game of a double header and they’re trying to keep their guys healthy I understand that on paper that looks like a move that you just oh you can’t do that Terrible Always clueless I am telling you it you have to look at the context You can choose not to but it makes you less informed as a fan I’m not saying that in a way that’s you know trying to poo poo you guys or anything like that But if if you’re out there going “Oh Oie’s a doofus for that.” No man There is so much more to it than that And you can choose to accept that and believe the explanation that I’m giving you or you can say “I’m full of crap too It doesn’t make any difference to me I’m right I know that I am about this.” And and that’s why sometimes I think I come out on a side of it looks like I give Ollie too much credit or I give Ollie too much grace for decisions but I think it’s because I always have the context in mind that sometimes doesn’t get publicized as much because unless you know a reporter asked Ollie about that postgame which after a win maybe doesn’t even happen because there’s so many other questions you might have to ask rather than one that could be perceived as a little bit critical Maybe I’m giving you the function of how it works for like the beat writers Maybe today Friday morning they come back and they’re in the office at 2 2 or 3 p.m this afternoon on Friday and somebody says “Hey that spot with Barrerero were you guys hands off on win?” And that would give Ollie the chance to say “Yeah here’s what our thought was with Win.” Because man we know he’s had some back issues and our our team specialists and our our trainers and everybody talk about this is the workload that we don’t want to give the guy too much in one day because we don’t even have an off day We’re traveling Here’s what travel can do sometimes to a back injury Like there is so much that goes into it that I I do sometimes wish fans would take a step back and go you know what sometimes there just might be something I’m not fully aware of And even as a media guy Brendan is not fully aware of but I sometimes have seen situations like that play out So I try to give a little bit of latitude to a manager who probably has a much better understanding of what’s going on behind the scenes with his players and what their plan is for guys than I might on the outside So that’s I more of a lengthy explanation than anybody probably wanted about that moment but that’s the reason behind it Let me know in the comments if you think I’m a doofus That’s fine But that’s I think that’s what’s going on there Lo and behold Cardinals do find a way to win that game and they get Aronado’s big swing I don’t know if he was sacrificing himself by by running to second base He wasn’t busting it out of the box but it kind of set up a spot to where the run going home I think was Walker was the the ghost man on second base in the 10th inning I think it was going to be a closer play at the plate than Aronado wanted it to be So he basically sacrifices himself It looked that way to me Either that or he just thought you know I’m going to be able to make it And it was close play at second Didn’t quite make it But with that you’re kind of going well shoot They’re getting a ghost man on second too in the bottom of the tenth And one run lead is maybe not enough to win this game more times than not Ultimately Grano was able to strand that runner there but that’s not always a guarantee And you’re thinking would love to have an insurance run Lars Nupar to have that swing in that moment is really really key I know it came against the White Socks but he has looked brutal at the plate recently and he needed a swing like that and the Cardinals did too So that gave a little bit more of a cushion there for Greno pitching for the second time in the day and he was able to navigate that bottom of the 10th inning and the Cardinals get the win in game one and then they get the win in game two So some really good stuff there They host the Reds on Friday night It’s going to be a home stand featuring some NL Central opponents Cannot wait for that four game series against the Cubs coming up next week But that’s what’s going on That’s what I saw from Thursday Let me know if you saw anything that I missed because I’m sure that happened I was out on the lake watching on my phone for the end of game one So that’s what’s going on Let’s go ahead and though before we get out of here I want to talk about some things that happened down on the farm because the miners teams were very good yesterday as well So let’s do that before we wrap as we go down on the farm It’s time to go down on the farm Brought to you by Hastings Layers Premium Eggs You’ll be happier in a jackass eaten thistle Huh All right I know I played the sounder music but I also want to talk about Michael McGrevy a little bit He was the starter for the Cardinals in game two And I guess this kind of counts as down on the farm because he’s been in the minors all year But he pitched well Gave up one solo home run three hits one walk only five innings which you might think in a double header they would look to get a little bit more out of their starter Uh but I think they were trying to be careful with him 76 pitches He’s been on regular rest He pitched the previous Saturday I want to say So five days uh on that schedule So he only throws 76 pitches All he goes to the bullpen maybe a little earlier than I would have expected I think he thought “Hey I have these guys in the bullpen that I haven’t used for game one I can use them for game two.” And he just didn’t get as much out of King and Ley as he was probably hoping to get and and certainly not as cleanly So maybe that impacted why you take McGrevy out when you do But really good outing from McGrevy And it’s fortunate that the rain came when it did because they can send McGrevy back down He was the 27th man so no roster move needed And then 5 days from now he’s going to join the Cardinals and pitch against the Cubs I’m pretty sure because the the the the 15 original days from when he was sent back down will have elapsed at that point I think by the 24th of June and he’s going to be on turn to go again So the Cardinals are going to get three starts out of McGrevy in the month of June if I’m not mistaken which I think is great I think that’s going to save the rest of the pitching staff and do numbers for you know how how that how that team looks in terms of their rotation keeping healthy Let’s go ahead and pop down though to the minor league since I did say down on the farm 9-3 win for the Memphis Redbirds on Thursday Uh Jimmy Krooks had a big day at the plate reaching base three times and hitting his 10th home run of the season He had three RBI’s in that contest Jos Fairmine chipped in a couple of RBI’s Michael Ciani back down there on base a couple of times and the Redbirds got that win Two scoreless relief innings from Munoz Curtis Taylor was the starter and he once again pitched well Not a big strikeout arm not a big prospect name but Curtis Taylor’s been putting up the numbers recently Five innings of one-run baseball So good for them The Memphis Redbirds getting it done Springfield also got it done The Cardinals down there 7 to1 winners over Corpus Christi JJ Weatherholt scored two runs but he didn’t get any hits He was 0 for two with two walks came around to score twice His OPS now at 910 Good to see from him The name to talk about here Joshua Bayz is on an absolute tear since he was promoted to double A Three for three with two home runs and five RBI’s for Bayz One of which I heard was an absolute moonshot as he has already hit six home runs Is that six with Springfield already because he just got called up His OPS is 1086 He’s almost opsing 1100 since that call up He has been unbelievable Six home runs and 73 plate appearances He’s struck out a bunch which you would expect I think that was sort of the book on him in 2024 when he got promoted from Palm Beach to Peoria that the strikeouts went up a bit But man the power is offsetting those strikeouts right now for the 22-year-old who is absolutely back on the prospect board if you ask my opinion Six homers five doubles in 73 played appearances Um he’s even got five stolen bases too So he’s been fantastic 10 walks to 21 strikeouts Yeah that strikeout rate is pretty high you know but that’s going to be part of the deal When you’ve got an on base near 400 and you’re slugging almost 700 I think you’ll take that trade-off So impressive stuff there from Bayas as he is contributing in a major way at uh at DoubleA which is great to see Uh Pete Hansen was the starting pitcher down there Six innings one-run baseball All there is to it Good numbers from him He’s 4-2 now on the season So that’s what’s going on down on the farm Really big day for Joshua Bias I am excited to see what he does moving forward and excited to see how the Cardinals handle the Reds this weekend Make sure you hit subscribe to the channel if you want to not miss our daily Cardinals coverage It’s more of a daily thing when I’m not on vacation but we’re still sprinkling in some podcast as you can see here while I’m in the Ozarks But I appreciate you guys for listening as always and we’ll talk to you next time on Behave Daily Peace

Brenden Schaeffer discusses the St. Louis Cardinals doubleheader sweep, and series sweep, of the White Sox on Thursday.

With star showing by Andre Granillo, Willson Contreras, Alec Burleson, Michael McGreevy and more, we break it all down!

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